Edit Studio's interface remains largely unchanged in this latest release, with most of the updates coming in the form of new tools, plugins and effects. I'm a stickler for customization and although EditStudio doesn't have too much flexibility interface customization, windows are arranged in intuitive positions. The monitor and properties windows can however be floated and I'd advise users to float and reduce the size of the the properties window. (Although try not to move it off screen, as I managed to lose mine and could only retrieve it by auto-hiding the task bar).
The timeline occupies the majority of the screen, split at approximately 50% by default. Although you can't change the positions, you can resize all windows to suite your needs. The Media Explorer window is a great tabbed area featuring effects, transitions, titling and your clips. Simply switch between the tabs to access all you need. I would have preferred the ability to transfer some of these to a separate window, but it's no great efficiency killer.
The Media Tab and Timeline
Edit Studio doesn't require media to be imported into each separate project - all files within the media library for all projects are available for use. I often use shared media such as my audio collection in my projects, so this is a useful feature. It also forces you to be more organised and keep your file structures efficient! One feature I find rather distracting is the instant auto preview of clips selected in the media tab. This feature was turned off as soon as I could work out how.
All editing is done within the timeline after dragging and dropping clips from the media window. Unfortunately EditStudio doesn't enable pre-trimming of the clips, so you'll need to drop the entire length on the timeline. You do have the option to set the in and out points of the clip within the media tab, but this can't be done visually. This is a shame as I personally like to drop pre-edited clips onto the timeline - useful if you're looking to insert a cutaway or a short clip between items on the timeline.
EditStudio's innovation with timeline editing is the dual cursor: double click on the timeline marker and it'll divide into two. You can now use these two cursors to mark the in and out points of a video, then select Item > Cut Out Section to delete it. You can then delete the gap by clicking within it and hitting delete. A simple and effective way of trimming clips! The in and out points of clips can also be selected and dragged to expand (or contract) it's length and audio/video can be unlinked within the timeline.
The usual tricks can be applied directly on the timeline such as adding keyframes for effects, changing the speed and trimming. I was however disappointed to note that if the timeline is set to play, moving the timeline cursor will not stop playing. This can prove frustrating.
You'll notice that the timeline consists of the usual video and audio tracks plus two other layers: Text/Effect and transition.
